HOLLYWOOD — Following a SWAT standoff that lasted nearly five hours, most of the people evacuated from apartments near Pierce Street and North 29th Avenue were being allowed to return after a man was taken into custody.

Shortly before 10:45 a.m., members of a SWAT team fired a percussion device into the unit where the man was holed up in an apartment following pre-dawn reports about shots being fired in the area.

A suspect, identified as 30-year-old Nelson Tomattis, was taken into custody minutes later, police said. He has a lengthy criminal record, police said.

The evacuations began shortly before 6 a.m. when police received reports that multiple shots were fired from an apartment, in an area south of Johnson Street and just east of Interstate 95, said Hollywood Police Sgt. Gene Cochenour.

Arriving officers found several shell casings outside the door of one apartment, he said. The unit had broken jalousie windows.

The man did not talk to authorities during the standoff despite their numerous attempts.

A heavy police presence was in the neighborhood as dawn gave way to daylight. Temperatures remained chilly and evacuated residents huddled with blankets and their pets.

Wearing a short-sleeve shirt and short pants, evacuated resident Ken Jackson had only his cat, Nugget, to help keep him warm.

Jackson said he was awakened by loud banging on his apartment door, which he opened -- only to be faced by officers and their drawn weapons.

"My first thought was that they were raiding my apartment," Jackson said.

Eventually, a nearby church and charter school under construction took in about 100 temporarily displaced residents in its cafeteria. They drank hot coffee and ate donuts.

The man taken into custody did not appear to have been hurt. Only people with apartment units in the building where he was found were not being immediately allowed to return.